FULTON, Mo. -- After shooting above 40 percent for much of the night, the William Woods University men's basketball team ran into an inopportune cold spell at the end of Thursday's contest, derailing the Owl comeback.
Andrew Miller (Whangamata, New Zealand) racked a game-high 15 points but it wasn't enough as WWU fell by a 56-62 margin to Park University.
The Owls jumped out to an early lead, as
Logan Decker (Kansas City, Mo.) drained a trey with
Jonathon Nutt (Palmyra, Mo.) picking the pocket of Melvin Gatson and racing down for the easy layup. The Owls continued, pressing out to a 19-12 lead with 12:03 to go in the half.
Park rallied with a 16-5 run over the next nine minutes to erase the WWU lead and leave the Owls trailing 24-28, but Miller bookended a 7-0 run to give the Owls a 31-28 halftime advantage.
Out of the intermission, the Pirates pushed back to a 33-38 lead, but Miller again pulled the Owls back into the contest, with a 3-pointer leveling the contest at 43-43. A pair of free throws from the New Zealander edged the Owls in front 47-45 with 10:31 to go.
Buckets from
Adam Otto (Lake Ozark, Mo.) and Miller answered a seven-point Park spurt, with the teams trading baskets to a 53-55 WWU deficit with 3:24 to go.
For the next three minutes, it seemed as though neither team could find the range, with the Owls shanking three shots and the Pirates five. Gatson eventually knocked down a three with 39 seconds left to put Park up by five.
After bringing the ball upcourt, the Owls called a timeout with 37.7 ticks left, but weren't able to connect on the ensuing play. A quick foul sent Park to the line, with a pair of makes leaving WWU down by eight but still within reach. Unfortunately, the Owls turned the ball over with 14.4 to go and despite a Nutt trey with 6.9 seconds left, WWU couldn't close the gap.
In addition to Miller's 15, Decker chipped in 11 points on the night, with
Dontre' Jenkins (New Madrid, Mo.) leading the Owls on the glass with seven rebounds. Gatson finished the game with 15 for Park, with Reco Anderson leading all rebounders with 12 on the night, posting a double-double as he added 13 points.
The Owls are back in action on Saturday, welcoming Columbia College to Anderson Arena. Tipoff for the game is set for 4 p.m.
